Syria condemns US missile attack, calls it 'reckless, irresponsible'

Damascus [Syria], Apr. 7 (ANI): Bashar al-Assad-led Syrian Government on Friday condemned the 'reckless and irresponsible' missile attack carried out by the United States and said that the act reflected a short-sightedness and a political and military blindness.

"In an unjust and arrogant aggression, the United States targeted at down on Friday the airport of al-Shairat in the countryside of Homs," state agency SANA quoted President Assad as saying.

"Targeting an airport of a sovereign state by the US is an outrageous act that clarifies in conclusive evidence once again what Syria has been saying that the succession of administrations of this regime does not change the deep policies of its entity which is represented by targeting states, subjugating peoples and the attempt to dominate the world," he added.

The United States on Thursday launched a military strike on Syria in response to their chemical weapon attack on the civilians few days before.

On President Donald Trump's orders, U.S. warships launched between 50-60 Tomahawk cruise missiles at the Syria Government airbase where the warplanes that carried out the chemical attacks were based, U.S. officials said, CNN reports.

The strikes are the first direct military action the U.S. has taken against Assad's leadership in the country's six-year civil war and represent a substantial escalation of the US' military campaign in the region, which could be interpreted by the Syrian government as an act of war.

Dozens of people, including at least ten children, were killed and over 200 injured as a result of asphyxiation caused by exposure to an unknown gas on Tuesday.

According to Anas al-Diab, an activist with the Aleppo Media Center, airstrikes hit the city of Khan Sheikhoun in Idlib province giving off a poisonous gas that led to this asphyxiation.

Three more strikes hit the same city center location but did not result in any gas, al-Diab added.

Activists said the Syrian regime dropped a chemical bomb and was responsible for the killings, leading the United Nations to replace a scheduled Security Council session for Wednesday morning with an emergency meeting.

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's military denied using chemical weapons and blamed rebels for the carnage.

The death toll is said to be at least 67, according to al-Diab, while the U.K.-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights has reported it to be 58.

The High Negotiations Committee claimed the death toll could be as high as 100 with up to 400 injured. (ANI)